THURSDAYMARCH 24, 2016
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STEAKS FROM HAPPY COWS
GRUMPY OLD MEN TAKE TO THE ICE
Wannabe food writer does some Pacific Prime taste testing
26th annual tournament brings together 24 teams of players 35 and older
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ICF LOSES $1 MILLION
RDN cuts rail funds Board chair says RDN has ‘lost confidence’ in ICF JOHN HARDING editor@pqbnews.com
The plan to re-start passenger rail service on Vancouver Island was dealt a serious blow Wednesday morning when the Regional District of Nanaimo announced it is withdrawing its commitment to provide almost $1 million to the project. RDN board chair Bill Veenhof said the decision to pull the funding was unanimous and was announced after an in-camera meeting Tuesday night. “We have terminated the contribution agreement with the Island Corridor Foundationn (ICF),” Veenhof told The NEWS on Wednesday morning. “After five years of waiting for this project to move forward, the board has grown tired of delays and has lost confidence that the day-to-day operations of the ICF reflect the interests of the RDN.” The RDN had committed $945,000 to the re-start of passenger rail service on the Island. Veenhof said the ICF was given 60-day notice of this termination on Wednesday morning. Veenhof also said the board passed a motion saying the the RDN board “does not support the retention or continuation of Granneke Management by the ICF board.” Former Liberal MLA Graham Bruce was hired to be the ICF’s executive director in June of 2009. Granneke is Bruce’s consulting business. The ICF issued a statement at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday. “The Island Corridor Foundation (ICF) is in receipt of the letter from the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) regarding the termination of the regional district grant agreement,” read the statement.
LAUREN COLLINS PHOTO
A SALE TO HELP CATS: Berna Claxton, left, a Parksville resident, browsed through the cookbooks at the CatSpan book and garage sale at the Parksville Conference Community Centre on Saturday, March 19. All the profits from the annual sale go toward the registered charity and its costs for spaying, neutering and feeding stray cats.
QUALICUM BEACH
Getting ready for refugees AUREN RUVINSKY
writer@pqbnews.com
The Qualicum Refugee Support Group is almost ready and are waiting for what could be a sudden announcement. “We’re in the hurry up and wait stage, and we’re very busy,” said QRSG co-chair Carol Doering. She said they are so close to final
approval to use a town-owned house to host a Syrian Refugee family in Qualicum Beach, that they have been given access to begin work while they wait for the formal vote from town council. “We have had a lot of support from volunteers, we probably had 20 people at the house yesterday cleaning,” Doering said, adding that they had painted most of the interior and done
See SCHEDULE CHANGES, page A8
a bunch of small repairs and things like power-washing the sidewalks for the first time in many years. They still want to clean the carpets, do more painting and start working on the yard, she said. “We have had a series of meetings with staff and individual councillors, and we seem to have their full support.” See WE ARE STILL, page A6
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